Mason and Hamlin A, circa 1909: What to do with loose tuning pins inbass...

[William R. Monroe]

Dave,

If your goal is to solve the bass tuning pin problem and nothing else, then:

My best option would be to repin the bass with new strings.

If you think a rebuild is in the future, CA the bass block until you can schedule a new block/dampers/strings (board? bridges? etc.?)  Really, can you call a 1909 piano pristine, and if so, is that a good thing?  At the very least, even though the hammers look nice, I'd guess there is little resiliency left in them.  Knuckles probably shot, lube probably all worn off the balancier/jack, pinning friction probably all over the place.  I'd bet if you really dig in, you'll find there are all sorts of things needing attention.

But.....

Why would you not CA the bass block.  The only thing repinning achieves is a tighter fit in the block with the same old strings.  CA does that and is much simpler.  The block is beat, CA fixes it, long-term in most cases, and it is relatively cheap.  Repinning with old strings - why?  But, if you did decide to, treating the block with CA first would not prevent you from repinning if you chose to later on.

My 2 cents.
William R. Monroe


  Hi All,

  I worked on a 1909 M and H today, and the piano was in almost pristine condition.  It is an absolutely wonderful piano.  The action plays great, hammers are in excellent shape, the strings have very few "false" beats.  The only problem is the pinblock.  The wire sections are okay, but the bass has probably 20 loose pins.  Most of the low bass pins are loose.

  I would like to remedy this........ Here are the choices as I see them:

  1).  CA that section of block.  I really don't want to do this on this particular piano, even though it would be the quickest fix.  

  2).  Replace bass tuning pins.  This is a good option, imho, with the drawback being brittle beckets breaking (say that ten times in a row....).

  3).  Replace all strings and pins.  In the long run, I think this is the best option.  They certainly could afford it.
  ..............


  Dave Stahl
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